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Tuesday, 2 May 2017

The Immigration Department has denied any wrongdoing when its officers arrested 29 workers, including a Malaysian, at a South Korean restaurant chain

PETALING JAYA: The Immigration Department has denied any wrongdoing when its officers arrested 29 workers, including a Malaysian, at a South Korean restaurant chain outlet.

Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali (pix) said the department should not be blamed for carrying out its responsibilities and employers must face the consequences for flouting the law.

"Our checks revealed that many foreign workers have been hired as frontliners such as cashiers, sales assistants and waiters. Employers know that this is not allowed.

"We are disappointed that employers have trivialised this rule and dare to break the law, all for short-term gains," he said in a statement on Monday, adding that such an attitude could lead to the increase of illegal immigrants in the country.

During its operations on Friday, the department arrested 28 of the restaurant's foreign workforce, who were mostly from Bangladesh and the Philippines, under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act for allegedly failing to produce valid documents at a mall in Kuala Lumpur.

Other workers arrested were from Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal and Pakistan.

The restaurant's Malaysian manager was arrested for allegedly violating Section 56(1)(d) of the same Act for harbouring them.

Following the arrests, the restaurant posted the incident on social media, describing the alleged ill-treatment of its employees who it claimed were '"forced to squat by the roadside" and "treated like illegals and criminals".

The restaurant also apologised to its patrons for service disruptions during the incident.

As of 8pm Monday, over 2,000 Facebook users had reacted to the post, many of whom were angry. It was shared 714 times.

Mustafar also said the Government has given employers the opportunity to register their foreign workers through the e-Kad programme, which is open from Feb 15 until June 30.

“We will continue with our enforcement operations and action will be taken against any foreign worker or employer who are found to have broken the law,” he added.